Pebble is coming to the UK as new update turns it into a fitness tracker

One of the most popular smartwatches, the Pebble, is to go on sale in the UK in the coming weeks at Dixons, O2, Firebox, and Amazon, the company has confirmed to Pocket-lint.

The move comes as the company pushes to be the smartwatch to own for Christmas in the UK and the only real viable option for Apple users ahead of the Apple Watch launch in 2015.

Although the original Pebble and Pebble Steel, launched in January, have always been available to UK customers via global shipping from Pebble directly, it is the first time the watches will be available to buy from the high street without the wait.

The company has also announced a drop in price, which should help boost sales. The original Pebble will be available for £99 while the Steel will cost £179 and the same applies to the US with prices dropping to $99 and $199 respectively. In the UK the Cherry Red Pebble will only be available at O2.

Additionally, yet another software update beyond the major update recently enjoyed by iOS 8 users will also be coming to the Pebble smartwatches.

While the latest update brought back the DOMO watchface, better iOS 8 integration, a compass, and most importantly the handling of emoji in messages, the new update focuses on fitness and health.

The software update will arrive in the next couple of days and will enable full activity tracking and sleep monitoring for all Pebble watches. It turns on previously asleep tech within the watch to allow users to display their favourite watchface while tracking their activity in the background, rather than having to run the activity tracker all the time.

Misfit, makers of the Shine and Flash fitness trackers, already have an app available in the Pebble app store and will therefore be one of the first companies to take advantage of the new software update but they aren't alone. Jawbone and Swim.com will also be launching Pebble apps able to track movement with the latter allowing swimmers to track distance, pace, times, strokes, and efficiency while swimming in the pool - yes the Pebble is waterproof.